London and Paris - what tickets do we need in advance?

[Anonymous]

We went to Paris for spring break. We had timed tickets to most of the attractions we wanted. I do want give a warning...when we checked in to the Musee de Orsay, the man in front of us had 10:30 tickets when it was just past 11:00. He was told, you're late. Go to the main line. So be on time! Also, the Musee de Orsay was so crowded it was actually uncomfortable. The Impressionist rooms were mob scenes.

We couldn't get timed tickets to the Eiffel Tower and paid for tour tickets. It was more expensive but worth it in that our guide brought us through all off the lines to the elevator quickly. We scheduled those first thing in the morning. The Catacombs tickets sell out so I'd prioritize that as well if that's something you're into. We waited in line for Notre Dame and the line moved relatively quickly...we waited 30 minutes at around 4:00pm which wasn't too bad. It was crowded inside there as well...but 100% worth it.

When we were there, my H and I were talking about how it does suck you can't really be spontaneous anymore. We visited over 20 years ago and planned nothing in advance. A consequence of more crowds and travelers nowadays, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Do you have your train tickets if traveling by train between London and Paris? They fill up crazy fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have your train tickets if traveling by train between London and Paris? They fill up crazy fast.

OP here. Yes but it was more than I was expecting. Maybe because I booked “late” or maybe that’s just the going rate but it was just over $300pp. I was shocked.

[Anonymous]

We are going to Paris in July, bought tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower the min they opened 60 Days out. Every day the top sells out 20ish min past midnight so you’ll need to look into a private tour operator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have your train tickets if traveling by train between London and Paris? They fill up crazy fast.

OP here. Yes but it was more than I was expecting. Maybe because I booked “late” or maybe that’s just the going rate but it was just over $300pp. I was shocked.

Yeah it's more expensive than the train ma which run within a single country. Need to book 3 months in advance for the better rates, even within 2 months that's a pretty common rate for the busy mid-day trains.

[Anonymous]

Last summer, I had no problem booking London attractions a day or two in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going to Paris in July, bought tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower the min they opened 60 Days out. Every day the top sells out 20ish min past midnight so you’ll need to look into a private tour operator.

OP here. We knew that one was popular but no interest at all in going to the top so we didn't try for it back when. I'd rather do Arc du Triomphe with the view OF the Eiffel Tower.

[Anonymous]

Do a small private tour of the Louvre well worth it with teens they will not be bored and will ge5 way more out of it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Paris for spring break. We had timed tickets to most of the attractions we wanted. I do want give a warning...when we checked in to the Musee de Orsay, the man in front of us had 10:30 tickets when it was just past 11:00. He was told, you're late. Go to the main line. So be on time! Also, the Musee de Orsay was so crowded it was actually uncomfortable. The Impressionist rooms were mob scenes.

We couldn't get timed tickets to the Eiffel Tower and paid for tour tickets. It was more expensive but worth it in that our guide brought us through all off the lines to the elevator quickly. We scheduled those first thing in the morning. The Catacombs tickets sell out so I'd prioritize that as well if that's something you're into. We waited in line for Notre Dame and the line moved relatively quickly...we waited 30 minutes at around 4:00pm which wasn't too bad. It was crowded inside there as well...but 100% worth it.

When we were there, my H and I were talking about how it does suck you can't really be spontaneous anymore. We visited over 20 years ago and planned nothing in advance. A consequence of more crowds and travelers nowadays, I guess.

Yes- we were there for spring break as well, and I had been really looking forward to the d'Orsay but it was kind of a bust. We had timed tickets but still took a while to get in and it was so crowded. One of my kids was really overwhelmed and we bailed after an hour.

Another thing I'll mention is that in addition to being on time as PP notes, there is alos little benefit of being early to your timed slot- we were a bit early for our time for Saint Chappelle and they wouldn't let us in despite the walk-up line dwindling to nothing.

[Anonymous]

Here are some alternatives if you don’t want to schedule everything way in advance:

Musee de l’Orangerie
Musee Rodin
Musée Picasso

For views/Eiffel Tower…
Arc de Triomphe
Tour Montparnasse
One of the restaurants with a view like Girafe

You can walk up Notre Dame. No tickets. Go first thing in the morning when it opens. Lines are long but move fast.

Instead of Versailles, Fontainebleau or Chantilly

Book a food tour - I like ones in the 6th.
Book a historic tour of Montmartre.
They are both some of the best walking neighborhoods and a good guide will show you places beyond the tourist trail so you can get your bearings and explore yourselves.

If you have younger kids, skip Disney and go to Jardin d’Acclimation.

[Anonymous]

Good suggestions above- I did book tickets for Arc de Trimphe but only a week or so in advance. Kids really enjoyed climbing and views of Eiffel Tower are really nice.

A couple churches I liked that you could literally just wander into, no crowds: Saint Severin and Eglise Saint Sulplice

[Anonymous]

Did anyone buy the Paris Museum Pass? Do you recommend it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have your train tickets if traveling by train between London and Paris? They fill up crazy fast.

OP here. Yes but it was more than I was expecting. Maybe because I booked “late” or maybe that’s just the going rate but it was just over $300pp. I was shocked.

I got them in mid-April for mid-June and they were $178 each. Now I feel like I got a good price!

[Anonymous]

I was the PP who went to Paris for spring break. After we visited the Musee de Orsay, we visited the Musee Rodin. It was so calm and beautiful there, especially after the Orsay. We picked up some sandwiches on the walk over and ate under the trees there. We bought tickets online on our walk over too, so not really in advance (sometimes there is a discount for online tickets). I'd highly recommend these gardens for something spontaneous or for a place to eat lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone buy the Paris Museum Pass? Do you recommend it?

It depends on how many sites you want to visit. I priced it out and got the 4 day pass and saved a little bit. It was helpful in some places like Arc de Triomphe where we were able to skip the line and basically go right up. We still had to make a reservation for the Louvre, Versialles, L’Orangerie and Saint Chapelle. The Arc, Pantheon and Orsay we just walked in/ stood in the museum pass line. But this was in early March last year.

One thing I would highly recommend is just making sure you get into the correct line. Often there would be what I thought was an obvious line to be in, but due to the length, I would ask a worker and many times that line ended up being the people who had a later reservation or people without tickets/museum pass and we ended up being directed to an area or line that wasn’t as visible (and was shorter). This wasn’t something I had experienced in other places in Europe.